Family Matters
by butterflye
Summary: Sometimes you have to cross more than one Ocean to get what you're after. DannyTess, RustyOC, hints of RustyIsabel. On semi-permanent hiatus.
1. Piano Girl

**San Francisco**

Danny Ocean woke with a start to the sound of someone playing a piano. At first, he thought maybe it was Tess, since she had been waking in the night more frequently these days. But as he rolled over, he came face to face with his slumbering wife. If Tess was still asleep, not that he was complaining, but if she was here, then who was playing the piano?

He quietly dragged himself out of bed and crept down the stairs, being careful to not wake Tess, and not to let whoever was playing his piano know that he was, in fact, awake, not to mention now brandishing a baseball bat. More so, however, being careful not to wake Tess.

As he reached the end of the stairs, the music changed. It was more intense, if still fairly quiet. It was almost as if the intruding pianist was providing a soundtrack to the situation Danny found himself in. He opened the door of the study, where he kept the piano, and his cat wandered out. Danny hadn't wanted a cat, but Tess had seen the thing skulking around the neighborhood, and had adopted it. But considering the music hadn't stopped, it obviously wasn't the cat playing the piano.

He tiptoed in and held the bat high in the air. He flicked the switch, and the music stopped abruptly. The pianist jumped, looked at him and grinned. Danny found himself slack-jawed.

"Hi Danny," the woman said quietly. Danny couldn't answer. He was currently redefining the word _speechless_.

"You can put that down you know," she added, gesturing to the baseball bat that he still had raised. Danny slowly lowered the bat, and finally regained the ability to speak.

"Kate?"

The woman's grin widened. When Danny's mind whirred into action again, he realized it _was_ Kate. His younger sister. Whom he hadn't seen in years. Granted, she'd changed a bit, but she still had her flaxen hair and deep brown eyes. He knew two things at this first meeting: One, she was still obviously a thief. Two, he had to tell Rusty. And fast.

**MEANWHILE**

**Amsterdam**

Robert "Rusty" Ryan had just gotten home. It was three a.m, and his girlfriend Isabel was sleeping. He hoped. He ran his tattooed hand through his hair and sighed. He loved Isabel, he was sure of it, but he was still uneasy over the fact that she was a detective, and he clearly was not. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar. He looked at it for a moment and decided he wasn't hungry. Just really, really tired. He made his way toward the bedroom, where, presumably, Izzy was sleeping. However, when he opened the door, the bed was empty. There was a note on the dresser. Rusty tried to stay cool, but fear began to constrict his chest. What if she'd left? Or, what if she hadn't, and was this some sort of game?

He walked slowly toward the dresser. The note contained a phone number. He took out his cell phone and dialed.

"This is Isabel."

Rusty's heartbeat slowed at the sound of her voice.

"Hi, Izzy."

"Rusty," she sighed. "Listen. I'm at work. They've got a lead. I think it's your fingerprint. I'm not sure, but I'm not taking any chances. You have to go. And...we can't see each other anymore, Robert. It's too dangerous – for both of us. I'm sorry."

Rusty felt as though the bottom of his stomach had simply dropped out. So she was leaving.

"Look, call me when you get away. I'll meet you there and we'll talk. Alright?"

He pulled himself together.

"Yeah. Yeah. This number?"

"Oh - yes, detective. Okay. Thank you. Goodbye."

With that, she hung up. Rusty knew that she'd probably been interrupted by someone, but that didn't make the way she'd dismissed him hurt any less. He once again ran his hand through his hair.

Rusty walked into the bathroom, turned on the tap in the sink, and splashed some water on his face. He was drying off when his cell rang again, startling him. As he opened it, he felt a thrill of hope. Maybe Izzy wasn't leaving after all. May she'd been in a room with someone and-

"Yeah."

"It's Danny."

Damn. So it wasn't Izzy. Rusty knew better than to be disappointed, but he was anyway. Not that he didn't like Danny. Danny was his closest friend, and he would trust him with his life, but Danny certainly wasn't Isabel. And every time Danny called, it was about a job, and the more jobs Rusty did, the further he got from Isabel.

"Danny, it's three in the morning here. Couldn't you call me tomorrow? Or at least later today?"

"No. It's night here too, I didn't know the time difference, and this is important."

"Of course it is," Rusty sighed. "What are we stealing?"

He thought he heard a woman's voice on Danny's end. A voice that didn't belong to Tess. But it was drowned out by Danny's sigh.

"Nothing. I just thought you should know: Kate's in town."

"Your town or my town?" rusty asked, cautiously. His relationship with Danny's sister was, at best, intense. At worst, bystanders compared it to being caught in the crossfire of a war.

"Mine. My house, in fact. And," Danny paused, apparently either unsure of what to say, or letting rusty digest the information.

"And?"

"And she has a job for us. All of us."

"All of us."

"Yeah. All of us."

"How does she know?" This was not good. It was bad enough that _Baron_ François Toulour, better known as the Night Fox, knew about the whole 'Ocean's Eleven' thing.

"She says she's worked with Toulour before, and he mentioned us."

"Who _hasn't_ worked with Toulour before?" Rusty sighed again. This night was not turning out well.

"Well, aside from us..."

"Rhetorical question, Danny. Put her on."

"Sure. Good luck."

"Thanks," Rusty replied sarcastically.

"He heard muffled voices, and assumed it was Danny telling Kate that she was wanted on the phone. Then he heard Kate's voice, which was not so muffled. But very angry.

"If you think for one second I want to talk to you about anything right now, you've got another thing coming, _Robert_. I swear..."

As she yelled and ranted, Rusty pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

_What_ had he done in some previous life to deserve this night?


	2. Author Note OR Please Forgive Me

**Hey folks! As you may have noticed, this fic is currently on semi-permanent hiatus (So SORRY!). My love for Brad Pitt has run off somewhere. But don't worry, there is a nation-wide manhunt going for it. If you liked this and like James Bond, I suggest you read my JB fic. It's also on semi-permanent hiatus (at least until Quantum of Solace comes out), but at least it has more chapters than this. **

**In the meantime, I've got a songfic series on the go right now, and once I retrieve my trusty chibi!Rusty (hey that rhymes), I'll be sure to stick a songfic centred around him up there for your viewing pleasure. **

**Once again, mea culpa, so sorry, please don't kill me!**


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